Happy Hormone Smoothie Formula

Hey loves! Having a mini panic attack over here since I haven’t posted on the blog in well over a week… EEEK!

Mostly because a few projects are in the works that have been stealing all of my attention (can’t quite share yet) and I’ve had a serious lack of blog/recipe inspiration in general, for what feels like an eternity now. I often experience waves of creativity and inspiration, followed by waves of complete BLAH where nothing at all sounds appealing to blog about… no matter what I do to try and get the inspiration flowing. The good thing is this feeling doesn’t last forever and my inspiration will return once again soon, I know it!

And lastly… I’m moving in with Terry in the next few weeks!! How have I been here a year already?!! I’ve been preparing by getting rid of things I don’t need and all that fun stuff… more to come on that very soon!

Anyways, today is the first day I’ve felt the urge to write or share anything in a while, and it feels really good 🙂

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For the past few months, you guys know my main focus has been on balancing hormones and learning all that I can pertaining to our endocrine system (you guys really seem to like learning about hormones too!) so I thought I would share my Happy Hormone Smoothie Formula! 

Depending on where you are in your cycle, this formula makes it easy to swap in phase appropriate ingredients.

Because I love you, I included four of my favorite recipes in this post – one for each phase!!  

♥

How will this smoothie help to balance hormones?

one: Blood Sugar Stabilization

This is the first essential step and often, the most overlooked step for harmonizing your hormones. Why? Because stabilizing your blood sugar doesn’t happen by chance! It takes effort and must be monitored throughout the entire day.

A cup of coffee and maybe a snack bar or a banana will not stabilize your blood sugar but instead, send you in a whirlwind of blood sugar spikes and drops the rest of the day. THE REST OF THE DAY. Cue the strong cravings for all things sugary, carby and caffeine related… ugh!  

These smoothies are lower in sugar but high in protein, fiber and fat (with a couple handfuls of greens for good measure!). Not only will this formula keep you feeling satisfied, full and balanced for hours, it doesn’t spike your blood sugar from cups and cups of frozen fruit. I know, I love fruit too and used to add heaps of it to my smoothies… but the more veggies the better. No more than 1/4 – 1/2 cup of fruit in each smoothie!

Why is balancing blood sugar so important? Our endocrine system functions by communicating with hormones; one of the main functions being the transportation of glucose to the brain and throughout the rest of the body. If anything is awry within this process, you’re sure to have mismanaged blood sugar and nothing thereafter will function as it should, including hormones. The carbs we eat are broken down into glucose and we need glucose for energy (we will focus on getting in the good carbs!). Our endocrine system relies on blood sugar stability. Since our bodies consider unstable blood sugar as a stressor, our adrenals respond by sending out stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline)… even after one unbalanced meal, and it’s a blood sugar rollercoaster from there.

Eating a protein-rich breakfast within 90 minutes of waking is crucial. Do not skip breakfast ladies!! If you’re going to have caffeine, make sure it’s after breakfast. For the rest of the day, keep your meals and snacks consistent, within 3 or so hours of each other and keep them balanced with fiber, fat, protein and plenty of veggies/greens. 

Even if you eat an apple for a snack, have a spoonful of almond butter with it. You don’t want your glucose to spike and drop and spike and drop, you want it to hover as close to a flatline as possible with little fluctuations throughout the day, so adding a fat like almond butter will help to keep things balanced. Cinnamon really helps with balancing blood sugar too! I sprinkle it in smoothies, no-bake energy bites, on an apple (with almond butter ha – so good!) and on any kind of treat.

two: Nutritional Support from Food

Food truly is the most powerful and effective medicine we have to heal and balance our hormones naturally. There are different micronutrients our bodies NEED during each phase from all the internal work going on. These smoothies will nutritionally support your cycle, as well as the essential detoxification of toxins and excess “bad” estrogens. What I love about eating this way is having something different to follow each week. I never get bored and they’re super tasty!

Consider what fruit/veggies are in season too, to save money and eat seasonally. With each smoothie and meal, we are one step closer to less cramps, less bloating and less mood swings!!

Be sure to print out the recommended foods sheet from Part Two of my hormone series, so you can swap in foods for the phase you’re in.

 

Happy Hormone Smoothie Formula:

20 grams of plant protein
+
10 grams fat
+
10 grams fiber
+
2 handfuls greens (optional)
+
1/4 – 1/2 cup of frozen fruit (optional)
+
1 1/2 cups of nut milk & 1/2 cup filtered water

 

Example Recipe:

1 scoop vegan plant based protein powder (I like this one)
+
1-2 heaping tablespoons almond butter
+
2 heaping tablespoons chia seeds
+
2 big handfuls of spinach
+
1/2 frozen banana (read how to freeze bananas)
+
1 1/2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk & 1/2 cup filtered water

Easy enough, right?! For each phase, there are different nut and seed recommendations so while almond butter is great in the ovulatory phase, sunflower seed butter or tahini are better in the luteal phase and cashew butter or 1/2 avocado is perfect in the follicular phase. Same goes for nut milks – swap almond milk for coconut milk in the ovulatory phase. Chia seeds are a great fiber source for any phase, but maybe swap in ground flaxseed for fiber instead, during your menstrual or follicular phases.

As far as fruit goes, it can vary depending on what you like, but I tend to stick with frozen bananas and snack on phase-appropriate fruit for my snacks! 

I also like to swap out frozen fruit for frozen veggies like cauliflower or zucchini, when phase appropriate. In the luteal/menstrual phase, I tend to crave chocolate smoothies with cacao nibs and cacao powder. I don’t have superfoods in the formula but feel free to add them if you want! For instance, I add spirulina during the luteal phase and sometimes maca powder whenever I feel like it – but you don’t need to add in superfoods if you don’t want or don’t have them. Mmmkay?!

The combinations are endless!

A Smoothie Recipe for Each Phase of Your Cycle:

Follicular Phase – Avocado Zucchini Smoothie:

• 2 handfuls spinach
• 1 scoop Vega Sport Vanilla Protein
• 1/2 avocado (or 1-2 tablespoons cashew butter!)
• 1/2 cup frozen zucchini
• 1/4 cup frozen banana (optional)
• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cashew milk + 1/2 cup filtered water
• optional – swirl in a spoonful of plain coconut yogurt (for a probiotic boost) and top with granola for crunch!

Ovulatory Phase – Strawberry Coconut Surprise Smoothie:

• 1 scoop Vega Sport Berry Protein
• 1/2 cup frozen cauliflower
• 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon coconut butter
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric (you don’t even taste it!)
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk + 1/2 cup filtered water
• optional 2 handfuls of spinach (will change the color though!)

 

Luteal Phase – Pumpkin Pie Cauliflower Smoothie:

• 1 scoop Vega Sport Vanilla Protein
• 1/2 frozen banana (optional)
• 1/2 cup frozen cauliflower 
• 1/4 cup pumpkin pureé 
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon sunflower seed butter (or tahini!)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon + dash of nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk + 1/2 cup filtered water
• optional 2 handfuls of spinach/kale (will change the color, though!)

Menstrual Phase – Chocolate Lover’s Smoothie:

• 1 scoop Vega Sport chocolate protein
• 2 handfuls kale
• 1/2 frozen banana (or 1/2 cup blueberries)
• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• 2 tablespoons cacao powder
• 1 tablespoon almond butter
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon spirulina (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk + 1/2 cup water
• top with cacao nibs and a sprinkle of peanut butter powder!

I hope the smoothie recipes and my Happy Hormone Smoothie Formula will help you guys!

Which smoothie do you want to try first?! What’s your favorite smoothie combination of the moment?!

Let us know in the comments below!

♥